One Southern California city has some of the worst drivers in the nation, according to a new study by Consumer Affairs, an online research organization.
Hesperia, in San Bernardino County, recorded the nation’s highest number of car crash deaths caused by speeding—averaging 10.9 per 100,000 residents in 2021, the most recent year recorded by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The national average was 3.7 per 100,000, researchers reported in the study published July 12.
They analyzed the 2021 transportation department data as well as that from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System to rank cities with over 100,000 in population.
The research team examined four crash factors per 100,000 in each city to create a “crash score,” including total car-crash fatalities, number of fatal crashes attributed to bad driving, those involving a driver who tested positive for alcohol, and the number of deaths from speeding.
Located about 80 miles east of Los Angeles, Hesperia is home to nearly 101,000 people, according to a 2022 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Most who live in Hesperia commute to work, spending an average of about 42 minutes in the car every day, according to Data USA, an online statistics platform of compiled by economists, researchers and scientists.
Statewide in 2021, California recorded 4,285 fatal accidents, which was an increase of nearly 8 percent from the year before, according to the state’s Office of Traffic Safety. Of those, 1,370 involved drunk drivers. Also in 2021, nearly 53 percent of drivers killed in the state in car crashes tested positive for legal or illegal drugs.
Damaged trucks remain on Interstate 15 after a multi-car collision in the Cajon Pass near Hesperia, Calif., on Jan. 16, 2019. (James Quigg/The Daily Press/AP)
Memphis Tops List
The U.S. city with the worst drivers, according to the study, is Memphis, Tennessee, with 32.3 fatal crashes caused by “bad driving” per 100,000 in 2021.Bad drivers caused 203 fatal crashes in the city, more than any other, the study revealed. In comparison, Chicago had 118 and New York City 107 in 2021.
The study’s research team used several categories to rate bad driving deaths, including aggressive and careless driving, driving the wrong way on a one-way road, failure to yield a right of way, following another vehicle improperly, improper lane changing, reckless driving, operator inexperience, and passing where prohibited.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ranked second worst with 20.7 fatal accidents due to bad driving per 100,000 people and the highest number of crash fatalities caused by drunk drivers at 10.4 per 100,000 residents, according to the study. The national average of alcohol-related crashes was 4.8 per 100,000 residents.
“Compared with New Orleans, which ranks 61st for worst drivers, Baton Rouge has twice the rate of fatal car crashes and almost twice the rate of total road fatalities,” according to a Consumer Affairs’ statement on the study.
In third place was Albuquerque, New Mexico, with 14.4 crash deaths resulting from bad driving. Nearly 35 percent of fatal accidents in the state were linked to speeding. New Mexico also had some of the most distracted drivers, according to the data.
“Anecdotally, we’ve talked to several car rental and insurance customers from New Mexico who describe bad car accidents: victims of hit-and-runs, those with family members on life support and folks involved in six-vehicle collisions,” Consumer Affairs researchers wrote in the study. “In the Land of Enchantment—and elsewhere—it might be time for tougher distracted driving laws.”
Traffic backs up at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza along Interstate 80 in Oakland, Calif., on July 25, 2019. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“The crisis on our roads is urgent and preventable,” Dr. Steven Cliff, a former deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said in a statement when early estimates of the 2021 data were released.
Nationally, an estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2021, the traffic safety administration reported. The estimate showed a 10.5-percent increase from 2020 and the most traffic-accident deaths since 2005.
Golden State Has 2 ‘Safest Cities’
On the other hand, two California cities—Oxnard and Glendale—were noted to have some of the nation’s safest drivers. Both ranked among having the top 10 best drivers, taking third and seventh places, respectively.Green Bay, Wisconsin, ranked first for having the nation’s safest drivers followed by Cary, North Carolina; Oxnard, California; Bellevue, Washington; McKinney, Texas; Lynn, Massachusetts; Glendale, California; Pearland, Texas; College Station, Texas; and Henderson, Nevada.
